Mado Ransomware - How to remove

Did you become unable to open and read your files, which now have MADO as their file type? Mado is ransomware, and it encrypts files and adds “.mado” to the end of each of their names. It may also install spyware and adware, causing pop-up ads to appear on your screen. To stop victims from seeking help, Mado also blocks some security websites and blogs. And, though Mado can be removed, the files that it broke aren’t repaired so easily.

In short about Mado:

Threats	Ransomware, spyware, adware.
How Mado infects computers	Infects pirated installers or downloaded with cracking tools, activators, keygens, etc., encrypts files and renames them to have the second extension “.mado”, installs spyware and adware.
How to restore your files	Restore files from a backup, scan your files with the free decrypter, repair the files.
Removing Mado	Unblock security sites, use antivirus programs (like Spyhunter) to remove malware, delete the infected download.

How to Restore Your Files

Decryption may not be possible

Mado encrypts files, scrambling their data with a cryptographic algorithm. Except instead of protecting our privacy, Mado uses cryptography to hide our files from us by scrambling their data. This makes programs unable to open and read those files. The “.mado” extensions that are added to the name of each file are just labels, the files were broken on the inside.

Earlier versions of Djvu (the ransomware that Mado is an iteration of) were a bit imperfect, but there is no known way to fix files that Mado broke.

These Mado files are not dangerous, by the way. However, there’s no good way to fix them. The only way to reverse Mado‘s encryption is to get the decryption key, unique to you (as it is unique to every single victim of Mado ransomware), and the only people who have everyone’s decryption keys are the authors of Mado ransomware. And you must have already seen (in the _readme.txt files that Mado creates and places in various folders) that these cybercriminals want people to send them up to a thousand dollars in exchange for a key that maybe works, no money-back guarantee.

Other than that, it’s not possible to break the encryption. Cybersecurity researchers have analyzed Mado‘s predecessors inside and out. We can only hope that, one day, the people behind Mado get found out and arrested, and that their tools are used to help everyone get their data back.

Alternative methods

The best thing to do is to restore your files from a backup. Backups are really helpful, and they’re not so hard to set up.

Try using Emsisofts decrypter that was specifically made for Djvu. Use it to scan all of your Mado files. If decryption of your files appears possible because of the offline ID being used by Mado, the decrypter will tell you after the scan.

Alternatively, use the other methods described in the last section of this post, such as data recovery. Read up on data recovery before attempting it, as you need to be very careful if you want to get good results.

Another notable thing is that Mado only encrypts a part of your files, so some large files, like video and audio recordings, archives, and images may be partially reparable. For example, there is a post on repairing JPEGs. So, you might want to save the Mado files that are most important to you and maybe find a specialist who can help you.

How to remove Mado

Removing Mado is probably best done with an antivirus program. But first, let’s note that Mado likely installs a spyware trojan on the computers of its victims – a data-stealing malicious program that tries to exfiltrate usernames, passwords, and other information while also installing an adware infection that displays annoying pop-up ads on your screen. Which means that you need to remove more malware than Mado. To lay out the Mado removal plan:

• if needed, save your encrypted files so that you don’t delete them,
• unblock security websites by fixing your hosts file (instructions below),
• delete the ransomware,
• delete the spyware and adware,
• delete the file that infected your computer in the first place,
• set new passwords, if needed.

To detect and remove all malware, you can use any competent antivirus tool.

Mado doesn’t spread like a virus, so it shouldn’t infect any USB keys that you use with your computer. Just remember to delete the file that brought this malware to you in the first place. Mado infects pirated files, such as “free”, unlocked, activated installers of expensive programs. It could be any program, but KMSpico and free Office installers are mentioned by the victims of Djvu (Npsk, Opqz, Repp, etc.) most often.

If you had any passwords saved in your web browser and if your antivirus scan detected spyware on your computer, you should set new passwords after having cleaned your computer. That way, even if they were stolen, your accounts won’t be hacked.

Important -- edit the hosts file to unblock security websites

TL DR : The hosts file is edited to block security sites Before the virus can be removed, it's necessary to fix the hosts file (the file which controls which addresses connect to which IPs). That is the reason the majority of security websites is inaccessible when infected with this particular parasite. This infection edits this file to stop certain websites, including anti-malware download sites, from being accessed from the infected computer, making browsers return the "This site can't be reached" error. Luckily, it's trivial to fix the file and remove the edits that were made to it.

Find and edit the hosts file

The hosts file can be found on C:/Windows/System32/Drivers/etc/hosts. If you don't see it, change the settings to see hidden files.

1. In the Start Menu, search for Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel, find Appearance and Personalization.
3. Select Folder Options.
4. Open the View tab.
5. Open Advanced settings.
6. Select "Show hidden files...".
7. Select OK.

Open this file with administrator privileges.

1. Open the Start Menu and enter "notepad".
2. When Notepad shows up in the result, right-click on it.
3. In the menu, choose "Run as administrator"
4. File->Open and browse for the hosts file.

The hosts file should look like this: Delete additional lines that they connect various domain names to the wrong IP address. Save the file.

Download and run the antivirus program

After that, download antivirus programs and use them to remove the ransomware, the trojan, and other malware. Spyhunter (https://www.2-viruses.com/reviews/spyhunter/dwnld/).

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to recover Mado Ransomware encrypted files and remove the virus

Step 1. Restore system into last known good state using system restore

1. Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Command Prompt:

for Windows 7 / Vista/ XP

• Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
• Press F8 key repeatedly until Advanced Boot Options window appears.
• Choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

for Windows 8 / 10

• Press Power at Windows login screen. Then press and hold Shift key and click Restart.
• Choose Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings and click Restart.
• When it loads, select Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt from the list of Startup Settings.

 

2.Restore System files and settings.

• When Command Prompt mode loads, enter cd restore and press Enter.
• Then enter rstrui.exe and press Enter again.
• Click “Next” in the windows that appeared.
• Select one of the Restore Points that are available before Mado Ransomware has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Mado Ransomware

After restoring your system, it is recommended to scan your computer with an anti-malware program, like Spyhunter and remove all malicious files related to Mado Ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Mado Ransomware affected files using Shadow Volume Copies

If you do not use System Restore option on your operating system, there is a chance to use shadow copy snapshots. They store copies of your files that point of time when the system restore snapshot was created. Usually Mado Ransomware tries to delete all possible Shadow Volume Copies, so this methods may not work on all computers. However, it may fail to do so. Shadow Volume Copies are only available with Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. There are two ways to retrieve your files via Shadow Volume Copy. You can do it using native Windows Previous Versions or via Shadow Explorer. a) Native Windows Previous Versions Right-click on an encrypted file and select Properties → Previous versions tab. Now you will see all available copies of that particular file and the time when it was stored in a Shadow Volume Copy. Choose the version of the file you want to retrieve and click Copy if you want to save it to some directory of your own, or Restore if you want to replace existing, encrypted file. If you want to see the content of file first, just click Open.

b) Shadow Explorer It is a program that can be found online for free. You can download either a full or a portable version of Shadow Explorer. Open the program. On the left top corner select the drive where the file you are looking for is a stored. You will see all folders on that drive. To retrieve a whole folder, right-click on it and select “Export”. Then choose where you want it to be stored.

Step 4. Use Data Recovery programs to recover Mado Ransomware encrypted files

There are several data recovery programs that might recover encrypted files as well. This does not work in all cases but you can try this:

• We suggest using another PC and connect the infected hard drive as slave. It is still possible to do this on infected PC though.
• Download a data recovery program.
• Install and scan for recently deleted files.

Note: In many cases it is impossible to restore data files affected by modern ransomware. Thus I recommend using decent cloud backup software as precaution. We recommend checking out Carbonite, BackBlaze, CrashPlan or Mozy Home.